Sprint training

Have you noticed the difference in physique between a sprinter and a marathoner?

The body of a marathon runner is shaped to perform a long task, repetitive and low power task. Most of their muscle fibers are Type I (slow twitch muscle fibers). Fibers are smaller, they can make a prolonged effort, and takes long to fatigue.

A sprinter's body is carved to short bursts of high intensity. The muscles are composed of more Type II fibers (fast twitch muscle fibers). Are larger and thicker than the slow, and can generate force quickly.

If the goal is muscle hypertrophy, after an aerobic base is important to exercise your ability to run or swim faster.

A sprint lasts 10 to 15 seconds. At that time, you can not get oxygen to the muscle so it uses the ATP that is already stored. It is short-lived, but is capable of generating the major powers. After that you'll be depending on the speed of blood circulation to transport oxygen to your muscles, your heart beats faster and restores the ATP stores. So the rest interval is so important in sprinting. The rest time should be sufficient to take the next rep at full power again. 2, 3 to 5 minutes may be needed.

Whenever possible, train explosively, and use the intervals. Your body will be at a state of EPOC (Excess post-exercise oxygen comsuption) that increases your metabolism after exercise and helps burn more calories even sleeping!

- Run / sprint: On a straight track, shoot out from scratch and accelerate to reach full speed. Keep running until you feel that you are not producing much more power. Slow down gracefully, stop and rest. Do not need to run 100 meters. It can be 40, 50 or 60 meter's sprints. Practice full speed is what matters. Do more sprints until you notice a drop in performance.



- Swimming: Try lowering your time in the 25 or 50 meters. Rest swimming slowly for 50 to 100 meters. Take more sprints until you notice a drop in performance.


After sprint training, it is common for people to want to "burn" a few more calories jogging a little bit or some more swimming. There is no need! The training is fast, do not worry. You will see that the time spent on exercise is lower, from 25 to 35 minutes. Way to go!

Squat. To the point.

The squat is considered by many the "king of exercises." It is the most feared exercise in the gym. He makes you mad because it's difficult. To do it, it takes concentration and strength. This is the exercise, along with the deadlift, that delivers more natural hormones (aka. Testosterone) which not only affect legs, but the whole body, including arm's muscles.

How to perform the full squat:

- Feet approximately aligned with the shoulders (or feet at a comfortable distance apart).

- Now squat down as much as possible, basically balancing on your heels and keep your back straight, try to go bellow parallel / ass to the grass, look forward. It requires balance and strength to maintain that position. Is basically that position of Jeca-tatu or the orientals, leaning on the heels, but with the back straight.

Image Credit: Crossfit

- At this point it is not given a chance to relax, you will find that is an exercise that requires not only the legs but the abdomen, back, neural attention to the form does not fail. And if you are holding a weight: the shoulders, deltoid , trapeze, arm and forearm, heart, or almost everything.

- Now go on and continue with the repetitions (10 to 15 reps with light weight, 4 to 8 reps with heavy weight)

- Breathe when you feel better, but you will usually hold a little while in the "hole" of the squat, is instinctive, sometimes you can exhale slowly on the rise, this is the "Valsalva maneuver", also valid.

It is an exercise that requires the whole body. Explore the perception of the neural-muscular ways from neck to the heels. The motor recruitment is large. It is difficult, requires attention and concentration. The weight does not matter more than the perfect execution. You should come down as much as possible to the point where the flexibility allows, without bending the back. Keep your back straight (or slightly arched position a "neutral", "beach chest"), always. The lower the better (ass-to-grass), wide amplitude. No parcial squats.

Healthy Squat

It is not bad for your knees, in fact, it's good. Exercises all that the knee is capable of, and it becomes stronger. Compressive forces at knee's ligaments in a deep squat position with more than 380 pounds do not reach 50% of its maximum physiological capacity.

Source (in Portuguese):

Squats and knee

http://www.saudeemmovimento.com.br/conteudos/conteudo_frame.asp?cod_noticia=843

A study was conducted comparing the pressure in the knee joint between two different exercises: the squat and leg extension. While in the squat, patellar total strength was considered within normal range (because of the hamstrings activation and the position of the tibia, which protects the knee), the leg extension showed an excessive instability that can cause injuries.

Source (in English):

Leg Extensions vs. Squats

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/site/?p=1424

It is not an exercise for the quadriceps only! You use all the muscles of your legs. Including the glutes, which are the largest muscles of the body.

Source:

http://stronglifts.com/why-you-should-always-squeeze-your-glutes/

There's no excuse! When you go to the bathroom, you're already squatting. If you can squat once, can do 3 sets of 1. And if you can make 3 of 1, can make 3 of 2. And sooner or later you'll be able to do 3 sets of 10 repetitions 3 times per week, which is the minimum you should aim to keep your legs working properly.

"The squat is the basic movement of human beings." Cláudia Raia - brazillian actress and dancer

Please stay away from the guided bar / smith machine when you do squats. The natural path of the bar is not a straight line. Make it free weight.

Anatoly Pisarenko squatting

Start with no weight, only with the bar. Add weight. Make 3 to 5 sets. Many times you can. Many times is necessary.

Types of squat:

- Back Squat: It is done with the bar on your back on your traps. It is the most classic. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises. Powerlifter training.

- Front Squat: You keep the bar in front, resting it on your shoulders. And balances at your fingertips. When you're in the hole, force the elbows forward / up (it helps to balance the weight on your shoulders). Increases the flexibility of the forearms. It is a basic exercise of the clean and jerk, an Olympic lifting.

- Overhead Squat: Squat down holding the bar above your head with a large grip and arms outstretched. Stretch it "like a towel". The bar is always on the same line of the feet (balance). It is a basic exercise of the snatch, an Olympic lifting.

- Side squat: With legs spread wide, squat with one leg to the side, then with the other.

- Lunges:

- One-Legged Squat: It's Punk! Or do the assisted version of the exercise and find a good use for the smith machine in the gym: ExRx's Single Leg Squat Assisted Self.

- No-no-no Squat: Full squat, heavy. No belts, no straps, no spotters. Down to the ground / Ass to the grass (ATG)!

- Air Squat: It is done without weight. Good for training posture and warming up.

If you never did it, prepare yourself to be unable to climb stairs for about 2 days. It will hurt because you never used. Perhaps you will squat again after a week. But your body adapts quickly. And gets stronger!